Update 11/27/2015: After some mixed feedback, I've gone back to the drawing board a bit on this. I've completely rewritten Chapter 5 which originally detailed "Operation Firebrand." I'm taking things in a completely different direction than originally planned, so let me know what you think. Chapter 5 skips a lot of content but I promise it will all come back around.
Chapter Five
Daniel stared out across the burning horizon from the fifth floor of a ruined skyscraper. Though the building had once towered into the sky, now only five floors remained, even the ceiling and most of the walls on this floor were gone. The ruin of London stretched out all around him. Columns of thick black smoke snaked into the sky, while buildings jutted from the ground like so many shattered bones. The sun was just vanishing at the edge of the world, giving the western sky a brilliant violet hue that contrasted sharply with the orange and black that consumed the city. Artillery barrages from the ground added flashes to sky, while hundreds of Alliance shuttles flew into the city, as fragile as birds against the Reaper fire. There was an ethereal beauty to it all – a landscape of nightmares and dreams – accentuated by the acute roar of the colossal Reapers that had laid siege to the old city and the sounds of renewed war as London had just become ground zero for an intergalactic war. The archaeologist and historian in him couldn't help but muse, what would Nelson or Churchill have done against such an enemy as this? No doubt fought to the bitter end as these brave soldiers were doing. In all his years of fighting the Goa'Uld and then the Ori, this is what they had always feared and somehow miraculously avoided. This Earth could easily have been his own. He couldn't let it end like this. The Reapers were a threat that transcended universal boundaries and allegiances. Despite everything happening around him, he couldn't help but smile. Today, with any luck, he would see his friends again. The past five months had been nothing short of intense, and he could not wait to return to the familiarity of home.
He turned at the sound of footsteps; Cerine approached him. She returned his uneasy smile as she came to his side and followed his gaze out to the horizon.
"Are you alright?"
His eyes narrowed. "It's not my Earth, but…"
"It is, and it hurts."
"Yes," he admitted with a heavy sigh.
"They are not of your galaxy, but they are your people. How did Liara say it?"
He recalled the moment when they understood that sending him home was possible, but that it would take much longer than he wanted. Liara consoled him that nothing could change that, but he could help change what was happening here. "'We will get you home, but first you will fight with us. You will fight for them, because you know their songs. You can recite their stories, because they are yours.'"
"I don't want to let them down."
Cerine smiled encouragingly and reached over and clasped his armored hand with her own. "We won't, Daniel. Shepard has put a lot of faith in us, and she seems to rarely be wrong. You have certainly impressed her… all of us."
Daniel nodded. "You haven't done so bad yourself."
She looked up at him. "We've made a good team – you and I. While it pains me to leave while our worlds burn, knowing what we hope to accomplish, and that we'll be doing it together reassures me that it is right."
Daniel turned to Cerine. Her dark blue armor was scarred and blackened and streaks of dirt covered her face. She noticed him staring and grinned as he leaned in to kiss her. Her arms encircled his neck and they pressed as close as their armor would allow.
Her mouth wrinkled and she pulled back from the kiss with a stifled laugh.
"What was that about?" he asked.
She pressed a finger to his lips. "I can tell you haven't been wearing your helmet enough. Your lips have the slight taste of ash. It's all in the air."
"I'm still not used to helmets, especially this fancy one Shepard gave me with the hud. Takes some getting used to."
"And as I keep reminding you, it can't protect that pretty head of yours if it's retracted," she countered.
"Quick screw before the next battle?" Wrex interrupted with a gravelly chuckle as he emerged from the stairwell. "If that's how you two get ready for war then you've got more krogan in you than I thought."
Cerine quickly broke the embrace, her face flushed. She murmured an apology to which Wrex only smiled. Facing down a Reaper was certainly a challenge, but compared to this she'd take the Reaper. Things with Daniel were still new, and she had not yet quite figured out how to handle it.
"We were just saying goodbye," Daniel said, trying to deflect attention away from her embarrassment. "This may very well not work."
"'Confidence, Dr. Jackson.' I bet a pijak's ass that's what Mordin would say," Wrex replied, then his face darkened. "Though I'd have a damn sight more of that if he were here with us. He was a tough old bastard."
Daniel nodded. The loss of Mordin just a couple of weeks ago on Tuchanka had hit them all hard. "I have no doubt in Mordin's research, just in our ability to implement it correctly. One decimal in the wrong place and we end up… I have no idea where."
"Well, that tin can with the nice ass seems to know what she's doing," Wrex said.
"EDI, Wrex. Her name Is EDI," Cerine said with a roll of her eyes, having shrugged off her momentary embarrassment.
Wrex shrugged his massive shoulders. "Device is nearly ready." Wrex's omnitool began to beep.
"Wrex, this is Liara. We have failed to reach the conduit," her garbled voice came through Wrex's radio. The sounds of gunfire and shouting filled the background. "We're implementing Plan B immediately."
"Shepard was dead set against Plan B, Liara," Wrex argued. "Did she authorize this?"
Liara was silent a moment and all they heard was the gunfire before she spoke again. "She's dying, Wrex. She took nearly a direct hit from Harbinger. I'm getting her out of here. We're coming to you. Be ready!"
"You keep her alive, Liara!" Wrex snapped and shut off the omnitool. He snarled and walked up to the nearest wall. He began slamming his fist into it. "Cannot," punch, "catch," punch, "one," punch, "fucking break!" With the final two words he slammed his forehead against the wall and Daniel and Cerine feared the whole thing would topple over.
"Wrex!" Cerine shouted. "We have to go now. Get us to the stargate."
Wrex grunted and nodded affirmatively. "Leave it to me. My clan will get you to the gate."
"McKay, hold that suppressant. We've got an incoming wormhole," Sheppard said into his earpiece.
"Is it Jackson?" McKay asked.
"Don't know yet," he replied.
Carter held her breath as the last chevron on the stargate locked and the energy wave came flying out, vaporizing some of the debris that had fallen from the ceiling. From their vantage point in the elevator, much of the stargate was obscured by black smoke, however, her eyes went wide when she caught a momentary glimpse of two great seven foot tall armored hulks emerging from the gate.
"Did you see that?" Sheppard asked, trying to blink away the irritation in his eyes caused by the smoke.
"I'm not sure," Carter replied.
The armored figures approached the fire and began spraying out a suppressant from the built-in extinguishers into the arms of their armor suits.
Carter whispered into her earpiece. "McKay, get a security team ready up top. We appear to have some company. They're putting the fire out. Can you use the vents to clear some of this smoke?"
"I believe I can reroute some airflow," he offered.
A third armored figure, much shorter and thinner – human-sized and female judging by the armor contours - emerged from the gate. The smoke was now beginning to clear, and they could see one of the hulks turned and waved her on into the room. The other hulk began to clear the heavy debris from in front of the gate, with little effort. The woman activated an orange hologram on her left forearm, seconds later people began to pour through the gate, most of them armored, and many appearing to be seriously injured.
One of the soldiers came out of the gate in a full run, and immediately headed straight toward the back of the room without hesitation, waving to Carter and Sheppard. A suit of black armor and a helmet hid all features.
Sheppard began to step out of the elevator and Carter grabbed his arm to pull him back.
"What are you doing, John?"
"Bad guys don't wave right? The Wraith certainly don't wave. So, I'm just going to say hello. They look like they could use some help. Just want to show them we're friendly."
Carter nodded and followed him out of the elevator. The armored figure slowed down and approached them, holstering the rifle on his back. The orange hologram appeared around his forearm and he tapped on it, causing his helmet to begin disassembling and retracting back into the collar of his suit of armor.
Carter smiled and Sheppard cocked his head curiously.
"You guys miss me?" Daniel asked.
Carter's face could not hide her surprise. "Daniel… um… what the hell is this?" Clearly, this was not the same person who had left just five minutes ago. He bore some new, ableit minor, scars on his left check, his face was covered in soot, and his hair could definitely stand a wash, but there was something different in his face, in his eyes. He had been through something harrowing but had come out stronger.
Daniel nodded. "That is a great question, but for now, I need your help. I've got a lot of wounded with me. I need you to contact the Hammond and Atlantis. We need every medic and doctor you can spare, and we need to start getting people up that elevator."
The third soldier who had exited the gate joined them hesitantly. From the armor, she had appeared to be a human female, but as her helmet likewise retracted, they were stunned by her blue skin and sapphire-colored eyes.
Daniel motioned to her. "Guys, this is my… friend, Lt. Cerine Asil."
Carter caught slight hesitation in Daniel's introduction, only adding to her confusion and curiosity.
She extended her hand, which Sheppard was quick to accept.
"Welcome to Pegasus," he said with a roguish grin.
"Thank you," she said. Her omnitool crackled with static and a voice came on. "This is Liara T'soni. Come in Astria."
"This is Astria squad," Cerine replied. "Our transport was successful."
"Shepard?" she asked hesitantly.
"Secure and alive."
"Well done, Lt. I've taken personal command of Veric squad."
Cerine's lips pursed and her checks flushed with anger. "You're not coming?"
"No," Liara replied. "Veric squad was being overrun. I joined them to buy you more time. Securing Shepard's evac is the highest priority. This won't work without her."
"When she finds out we left you behind…"
"She will understand," Liara cut her off. "But tell her I completely expect her to come back and rescue me. That should provide her the motivation to get her ass out of bed."
"Wrex isn't coming either," she informed her.
"Then I'm placing you in charge unti Shepard recovers," Liara informed her.
Liara was not military, and the group that came through the gate was human, salarian, asari and more – she technically had no authority over any of them, but Cerine nor anyone else would question anything that came from her.
"She needs you, Liara," Cerine said simply. She knew that would sting, but she was desparate. Most of Shepard's crew was on the Normandy or elsewhere. Only Liara and Vakarian had gone with Shepard to the conduit, and Wrex had stayed back to help guard the stargate at Shepard's request, but once Shepard was safely through Wrex had refused to join them. He'd said his place was in the fight – he would carry on in Shepard's name. Shepard herself was unconscious and on the verge of death. Now if Liara wasn't coming, that left her, Lt. Cerine Asil, in charge of a rag-tag outfit stuck in an alternate universe – it was not the sort of command she had always envisioned.
Liara however was not swayed. "I have to go, Cerine. We can't hold the chokepoint much longer. I estimate we'll be overrun in less than five minutes. Half of the squad is seriously injured, but we'll hold them back as long as possible if you need more time."
Daniel and Cerine both glanced back toward the gate quickly to see that already nearly two dozen people had come through.
"Negative," Cerine replied. "Recommend you proceed to your evac point. Let Hackett know that we made it through. Tell them…," her voice began to shake and she took a moment to draw a breath, "tell them we will be back. Shepard will see this ended. We all will."
"Acknowledged," she said. "Transmitting last minute orders to your omnitool. Proceeding with gate shutdown. Good luck, Cerine. Take care of her for me."
Cerine's omnitool powered down and she stood there silent for a moment.
"Are you alright, Cerine?" Daniel asked.
Holstering her rifle, she nodded. "That crazy pureblood put me in charge. Knew she wasn't right in the head."
"They're not your commandos, but these people trust you," Daniel said. "And you know that."
"Right then. Let's get to work." She jerked her head back at the wounded. "Sgt. Vakarian says we've got to get Shepard into surgery now or she won't make it. If she doesn't make it, then neither does my home."
Daniel nodded and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Go get her ready, we'll get her up top first."
He looked back to Carter. "We need a doctor by the time we get up top."
Sheppard and Carter didn't question him further. Sheppard tapped his earpiece. "Rodney, contact Atlantis and let them know we have a medical emergency. We need them prepped for at least twenty wounded. We've got people who will need emergency surgery."
"Who the hell are you talking about?" McKay asked.
"Daniel's back and he brought friends."
Daniel turned and headed back towards the Stargate, motioning for the two of them to follow. He weaved among the wounded straight to where Cerine and Sgt. Vakarian, a turian combat medic, were kneeling next to Shepard who was lying on a stretcher.
Daniel looked to Carter and Sheppard. "She's Aerin Shepard, and I wouldn't be back here or even alive without her help."
When Carter and Sheppard saw her they shared a grim sidelong glance at each other. They knew, whoever she was, she would not survive. She was covered in blood, most of her armor was gone and some parts that remained appeared to be fused to her skin. Her auburn red hair stood out in stark contrast to the cold pallor of her face. The only glimmer of hope was that she didn't appear to have any head injuries.
The turian was applying some sort of gel to her wounds with a marked speed and determination and simultaneously scanning with her omnitool. "My knowledge of human physiology is limited! I was pulled for the Battle of Earth before I completed my exobiology training."
"You're doing fine, Kaeta," Cerine assured the young turian.
She shook her head vigorously. "No, she's dying. I'm not my brother. I can't save the damned galaxy nor even one fucking person it seems!"
Cerine leaned in close to Kaeta and whispered. "You're a turian. Keep it together and keep Shepard alive. You can do this, Sgt. Am I clear?"
Kaeta nodded. "We have to get her to a doctor. Her implants and the medi-gel are helping keep her alive, but they're being overworked. Her cybernetics will completely fail if we can't stabilize her."
Daniel grabbed an end of the stretcher and nodded at Carter to grab the other end.
Carter knelt down to Daniel's level. "Daniel, she won't make it."
"Like hell," Daniel replied simply which brought a smile out of Cerine. "Let's go, Sam."
Carter grabbed the other end and gently they lifted her off the ground and began their way towards the elevator. Sgt. Vakarian followed alongside, continuing to apply medi-gel. They passed another medic helping the other wounded.
"You, salarian," she said, pointing a finger at the medic. "I need you on triage. Prioritize who needs to go up the elevator first." The salarian nodded and saluted her.
"Ummm, Sheppard," Daniel began tentatively, "I need a favor."
"You got it, Jackson."
"Yeah, I wouldn't have agreed so quickly. I need you to contact your wraith friend."
Sheppard smirked. "Why do people keep saying that? We're not friends."
"Well, I'm afraid we're going to need his help," Daniel lamented. "Trust me I don't like it, but I don't think we have a choice."
Sheppard grimaced. "Yeah, fine. We get back to Atlantis, and I'll see what I can do."
By the time they reached the elevator, they already had a train of organized patients, several on stretchers lining up behind them; the salarian was taking his new task seriously.
"John, why don't you work with that medic. See if you can get an idea of the injuries we're dealing with. Relay to McKay so he can help the medteams get prepped."
"I'm on it. You should speak to Woolsey directly and let him know what's going on." Sheppard said. He tapped his earpiece as the elevator doors closed. "McKay, we got the first group of wounded heading up. Go ahead and dial up Atlantis and let them know we're going to start sending people through. Inform Dr. Keller that the Hammond's medics will focus on the minor wounded here, but we'll be sending the worst straight through the gate."
"I've had them dialed up for the past few minutes. Carson was in doing some work on project with Jennifer, so she's pulled him in."
"That's great. They're going to need all the help."
"Woolsey wants a full report from you ASAP," Rodney informed him, with some small amount of mirth.
Sheppard groaned.
"Yeah, that's the reaction I expected. That's for lying to me this morning about Jackson and Carter."
"Tell Woolsey I'm working with the wounded, and I'll check in as soon as I can. Something is going on here. Jackson says we need to bring in Todd."
"What? Your wraith friend?"
Sheppard clenched his fist. "I swear to God, McKay!" He stopped and took a deep breath. "Forget it. We have work to do. Have a couple of medics come down when the elevator unloads and send Ronin and Teyla with them. There's some…," Sheppard glanced at the two armored hulks, "sketchy looking tank-like aliens down here."